In 2015, when Latvia and Luxembourg share the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, it is especially important to strengthen international collaboration between cultural institutions, as this provides an opportunity for the public to become acquainted with art treasures that are significant for the whole of Europe. In the summer of 2015, the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA), in collaboration with the Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art, will hold an exhibition of works by the outstanding photographer Edward Steichen (1879-1973) at the LNMA's Arsenāls exhibition hall in Riga.

Steichen, who was born in Luxembourg and emigrated to the United States, is recognised in the history of photography as one of the most outstanding and influential photographic artists of his time and gained greatest recognition as an unsurpassed portraitist. Through the lens of his camera he captured many great historical figures - Sir Winston Churchill, Auguste Rodin and Greta Garbo, to name but a few. At the beginning of the 20th century, Steichen worked alongside Alfred Stieglitz, who first turned photography into art.

The Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art houses a unique collection of Steichen's works - portraits, landscapes, commercial photos, and others. This exhibition in Riga provides an opportunity to learn about Steichen`s creative heritage and gain a direct insight into the development of photography at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.